


The Red String of Fate

by Nuria_of_Fiore



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Angst too, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gangs, Graphic Violence, Mob AU, Slow Burn, Soulmate AU, lots of fluff, non-canon compliant, possible smut idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-08 14:01:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7760638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nuria_of_Fiore/pseuds/Nuria_of_Fiore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why? Why did it have to be him? Why did he have to be here? Her partner, her friend. She trusted him and now sitting on this damned roof top she had to make a choice, trust the enemy gang leaders favourite lacky or fight through this Akuma alone. Either way her soulmate would have to wait</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my very first fic on here and I'd like to give a fair warning for grammer and spelling issues because I dont have a computer so this is all done on my phone, oops

It wasn't supposed to be this way, but she just couldn't help it. Her finger lazily tracing the bright green outline of the black paw print of her soul mark on her hip. There were gentle, sweet thoughts coming to her through the small tattoo like mark. Most had a name, or the first phrase spoken to them by their soulmate. Very few had an image, less than 0.01% of the population to be exact. 

Of course figuring out exactly who your soulmate was, was never exactly easy. There were always so many people with the same name or having to constantly listen for those fateful words was exhausting. She was lucky in a way she supposed, the only snag was she had to see her other half's mark, then get the consent to touch it, to see if it really was meant to be. So far there were two possibilities that Marinette had in mind, both the complete opposite of the other. She recalled the day she had gained the mark.  
She had come across the little black cat in the alley way behind her house, cold and afraid under a dumpster one late Decembers morning during the holiday. 

"Shh, shh" she coo'd in the mid winters air, the poor thing half frozen and mewling pitifully. She got on her hands and knees, the cold biting through her thin pants like thin daggers, how long had this kitten been out here? 

"Come on,....come here little..guy." She struggled to reach the little black mound of fluff. Her arm was stretched to the max and she even went as far as to press her cheek into the cold snow for more length. Finally, after a few minutes of reaching and coaxing she got a hold of the poor thing as low and behold who came up behind her?  
"Marinette?" The soft masculine voice resonated behind her. 

"A-Adrien!" The ebony haired young woman snaped up in surprise, the little bundle of shivering black fur held tightly against her torso by her left hip under her warm winters coat. Her bluebell eyes are panicked as the felines breath becomes shallow "I-I'm sorry, I really can't talk r-right now. The time not have I, I mean! I don't have the time!" She stammered out. 

The blond looked at her concern splaying across his features and offered his hand to her "Is everything alright?" He asked, eyebrows knit in concern upon coming across his classmate on her knees in the snow. 

Marinette held the little cat closer "We- I", she took a deep breath and corrected herself "really need to get inside" she opened her coat just enough to reveal the frost bitten fur "It might not last much longer." The concern was evident in her eyes as her face scrunched uncharacteristically dark from the bright, peppy smile she usually wore. 

The blond nodded in understanding without saying a word, his hand almost instantaneously clasping her own as he pulled them both inside the warm bakery doors. The warmth washed other them in a wave, quickly followed by the sweet smells of breads and pastries that lined the shelves that permeated through the home. 

Marinette cheeks were bitten red by the cold, or at least she could blame it on the cold and not the warm hand against her own slightly snow bitten and dripping wet one. Normally she'd be a flustered mess but there were more important matters to attend to "Mama!" Marinette yelped, pulling the kitten from her coat "Mama I need warm towels please!" 

The urgency was evident in her voice as Sabine smiled warmly at Adrien and hustled over to her daughter, holding a cloth that was left by the oven "another one dear? You already have a cat" the benevolent woman gently chided 

"I know Mama, and I love Tikki but I couldn't let him freeze to death!" She gratefully wrapped the small black kitten in the nice warm cloth as Adrien watched transfixed by the ordeal. His normally shy and reserved classmate, taking charge for a creature smaller than herself. It was also painfully clear this was not the first time she's done it either. 

Marinettes mother shook her head solemnly "you know how much of a challenge it was to get your father to agree to Tikki, we can't have another" 

Adrien, the selfless, sweet natured model decided right then and their to follow the example of his friend and classmate.

"I'll take the little guy" he smiled brightly 

"What? Really?" Marinette felt an enormous sense of relief for the tiny creature. She passed the bundle to him, the felines breath now steadier as it slept peacefully. 

"J-just be careful!" She stuttered and tore her eyes from Adrien to stroke the soft fur of the kittens head tenderly 

"theres a chance he still might not make it" worry clouded her eyes, no creature should suffer like that. "What are you going to name it? Will your dad be alright with you keeping him?" Marinette focused on the cat, willing herself to imagine it was her friend Nino that was holding the cat and not her school crush. She imagined it much like last month when she'd come across a little green turtle trapped in a tire being terrorized by a few small children. 

"I'm 18, my dad can't control me forever" he chuckled, or at least he hoped as he grew closer to graduation the hold on his life would become more and more his. He looked at the kitten thoughtfully, taking a moment to study the midnight mass of fur carefully as the bakers wife replaced the cooling hand towel with a new warm one. "plagg" he decided, the name simply coming to him. 

"Plagg" Marinette whispered under her breath as Mrs.Dupein-chang left the area "its a nice name" the black haired beauty smiled warmly up at him, until her confidence faltered and she realized how close they were. 

Marinette sighed out of the sweet memory, leaning further back into her desk chair and into the next phase of the day that added so much more confusion to her life. 

She had taken on her usual midnight persona of Ladybug; defender of Paris. She had originally had a good chuckle at the name the Parisian police force had given her alias. However and partially to her dismay the name stuck as she had used her parkour skills to rescue a fair amount of citizens from a freak rockslide. Of course she just had to grab the domino mask she had been working on for her halloween costume of, you guessed it; a ladybug. 

It had been a few weeks after she had rescued Tikki, her oddly bright red kitten from a landfill that morning, the freak chemicals permanently dying the once black fur, now it looked like the cat was a ladybug of her own. 

It had turned out the landslide hadn't been so 'freak' after all, it had been caused by a classmate of hers, Ivan. It wasn't his fault of course and he had been acquitted of all charges thanks to the fact no one was hurt but the fact had remained there was a new mob boss in town and he went by the name "Hawkmoth". That man was, and is, a cruel, manipulative, twisted man that used people frustrations and insecurities against them, so in their moment of weakness they would do anything to get what they wanted and that often meant trying to take out a defined target, or hunt her (being ladybug) down. How he did it was strange and almost impossible to comprehend let alone to defend oneself against. one minute they feel filled with negative emotions then the next they hear a sound from their phone that drives them mad, amplifying everything they felt tenfold, until they had no control over their actions. At least thats how it used to be. Now its a small black drone like butterfly that attaches itself to the spinal chord of the victim and releases a harsh Neuro toxin that held the same effect. Hawkmoth was a talented hacker and a brilliant mechanical engineer as well as a neuroscientist albeit a twisted one but no one could question his maniacal mind. 

Of course all this lead to meeting her partner Chat Noir, which was, in itself completely Ironic considering she had saved a black cat earlier that day. The masked partner in crime was a bit unusual, decked out in a kitty eared hoodie, biker jacket,  
leather riding pants and lo and behold a black domino mask. She couldn't help but chuckle as they became tangled up in her yoyo, yes a yoyo, how it came to her she had no idea but it was strong enough to support both their weight so she didn't ask questions. Now that she thought about it the black haired girl really should have looked in the mirror herself before laughing at Chat Noir, like really? Black leather gloves, an old tight fitting black and red polka dotted pyjama shirt and matching, still too tight, legging like bottoms? It was a fashion disaster on both parties. In her defence however she had also just rolled out of bed but thats besides the point. 

Between the two of them and some really quick thinking with a hose the duo had been able to subdue the brunt of the landslide, channeling it through the streets with cinderblocks and a fire truck, all the way to an old near by abandoned stadium used more for graffiti than sports. They were so incredibly lucky that no one got hurt and that there was limited damage, nothing a good pressure wash wouldn't fix. 

Chat Noir had seemingly come from no where as they both raced across the paris roof tops, thinking more about helping the people that needed it rather than their own safety. Of course, of course that silly kitty had nearly cut her off mid jump, sending them both plummeting toward the cobblestone streets. She would have been a big red bug stain on the stones below had it not been for that odd yoyo and some quick thinking. 

It was just her luck he was a big ol' flirt, both distracting her and helping her as they moved the fast flowing mud down the street, tag teaming, saving civilians and moving a lot of dirt. He had been a major support when she had doubted her capabilities in handling the situation but the authorities where tied up in trying to subdue Ivan's raging rampage so it was up to them. 

They didn't talk much other than the necessary instruction and an onslaught of flirtatious one-liners but at the end of the day they did pretty well. Well enough to receive ample praise from the surrounding Parisians and to bump knuckles in celebration of their success. However they had lives to get back to, Marinette a bakery and for the mystery man in black? She could only imagine. 

She sighed in relief after the long day, she was certain of the mud in her hair and the soreness she felt in her muscles was killer. With a blissful yawn she stretched out and ran a bath, adding a little bit of lavender bubble bath as a reward for the trying day. As she stripped down, thats when she saw the mark on her hip. A small black paw no bigger than a Canadian toonie, outlined in the striking green of three very handsome pairs of eyes. Adrien's, Chat Noir's and the little black kitten that seeming caused her so much turmoil and confusion between the two men.


	2. Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette loses her coat, Chat Noir is a dick

Marinette stretched with a yawn, leaning back over her office chair, feeling the relief flood in her strained muscles with a languid groan. She had been staring at her current sewing project for Plagg. She wanted to create something personal for the little kitten by stitching together a dark leather collar with a shiny little bell. The collar was thick and soft, light enough not to strain the little guys neck but strong enough not to give under the tiny razor sharp kitten teeth that it would most undoubtedly be victim to. Marinette smiled at her work, turning it over in her hands and tracing the seam with pride welling in her heart. Hopefully Adrien hadn't already gotten him one. 

The raven haired beauty smiled as her own unique kitten hopped up on her lap in a warm furry bundle of joy. She stroked the bright red fur tenderly, examining the spots where the formerly black fur was poking through once again, as the hold of the red slipped as Tikki naturally shed. Tikki chirped happily at the display of affection, raising her head to meet Marinette's hand. The girl couldn't help the soft smile that graced her features as she looked at the small animal, feeling the silky soft beneath her aching fingers. Her hands felt more like an abused pin cushion at the moment rather than their usual gently calloused selves. She continued to stroke Tikki as she examined her pin hole ridden finger tips. She really needed to either find or invest in another thimble. 

Marinette gazed at the clock with a sigh, dreading the morning trek to school. It was a blustery day; snow danced like vengeful snakes over the iced cobble stones, slick and treacherous as ever. It was unusual to have this much snow, especially with the usually temperate climate but with the way global warming was going, she wasn't surprised. She looked at the school outside her balcony window, even though it was across the street, she couldn't help the innate feeling of dread at the cold. She chuckled, she was a ladybug! Ladybugs don't go out in the snow, they hibernate! They migrate in some regions! There was no need for this nonsense! 

"Marinette!" Her mother’s voice echoed through her room "you're going to be late darling!" 

"Coming Maman!" She called down, shoving the collar into her pocket and gently placing Tikki on her lounger with an affectionate pat on the head. "I'll see you soon Tikki" she smiled; double checked that the litter box was clean and she had plenty of food and as treat, a homemade kitty cookie. One good thing about having a cat was her dad could experiment and branch off into other categories of baking, some for humans others for pets. It would end up being a great addition to the shop and a few people were paying top dollar for the sweets. The pets just seemed to adore them and she had been told by her classmates on more than one occasion that their pets throw a hissy fit when they try to switch back to brand name treats to no avail. 

Marinette gathered her things, tying her soft white scarf tightly around her face to block out the cold and slipped on her jacket. She smiled at her mother, only the wrinkling by her eyes giving away the expression. "I'll see you after school Mama, I love you" she spoke, her soft, fairy like voice only slightly obstructed by the soft white cloth. She waved goodbye to her father as she turned to walk out the front door of the shop, the sudden cold stealing the breath from her lungs as the snow swirled around her feet like vehement waves.   
Though the walk wasn't far, it felt like an eternity, the wind whipping around her face in a torrent of icy particles. Why they didn't call it a snow day was beyond her, to be completely honest she wouldn't be surprised if Hawkmoth was behind the freak weather, but then again how could he? Unless he had giant snow machines around Paris, which seemed utterly ridiculous. 

The streets were strangely quiet, even with the weather being as bad as it was. Surely there would at least be some traffic but alas the entire street was dead, with only the dreary sun peaking through the swirling mass of ominous grey clouds. However her shiver fill solitude was quickly shattered into chaos as a black armoured car came barrelling down the street, swerving out of control as a certain Black Cat chased it down. 

Chat Noir smirked cockily as he increased the throttle and pulled up beside the vehicle as it swerved once again. It began violently teetering on its two left wheels before crashing to the side, kicking up snow and shards of glass as Marinette stared in horror. Chat Noir was supposed to be a hero! What the hell was this!? 

Pulling a sudden stop the feline persona raced over to the car, tearing open the door and pulled the passenger out. Marinette watched the altercation, unsure if she should intervene but what grounds did she have? What was the context? And what the ever loving FUCK was going on! This was her partner not some dumb thug! 

Chat noir snarled fiercely at the man. There was a gash on the mans forehead, deep and gushing crimson down his ashen face onto the frozen snow. His countenance was twisted in pain as Chat Noir gripped the man’s arm, the titanium claws on the ends of his black gloves breaking through the tailored suit and causing more of the Irony smell to permeate the air. 

"Alright Jacque. Listen here and listen well I don't want to claws you any more grief then I have to alright? My boss needs you to bring him the money you owe him to the docks by. Midnight. Got that?" Chat Noir purred as the arrogance and cockiness rolled off him in waves. The man nodded feverishly as Chat grinned like the infamous Cheshire kitty "purrfect" he cooed 

"Chat!" Marinette gathered her courage, the name spilling from her mouth as the horror carried through her voice. 

The feline turned around suddenly, unrelenting in his grip on the poor soul "M-Mari?" He whispered her into the wind, oh he fucked up, and he fucked up bad. His cockiness shattered as he looked at the utter betrayal and disbelief on his princess' face. "Mari...please" the ears on the top of his head drooped "Please don't look at me like that," the wind whipped around even more, tearing the warm scarf from her pale face and into the sky, exposing her quivering lip "please princess, you- you don't understand!" 

"I understand enough Chat!" She yelled, stalking towards him "you were supposed to be a hero! Ladybugs partner! Why-" her voice choked with emotion "why are you doing this!" She demanded, the tears spilling hot and heavy "I looked up to you!" 

There it was, the heavy hitter, the black cat looked down in shame as he retracted his grip and weakly reached out for his classmate "Marinette please" the weakness quivered in his voice "this man, this man is bad!" He tried to explain himself "he steals from the poor! He's a crook Mari! He hurts families and the innocent! He's a mob lackey!" 

She could help the rage that grew in her voice "what? Like you are!" She shouted, the cold nearly stealing her breath away "just go Chat," her soft angelic voice quivered, "you've done enough." 

She shoved him aside with her shoulder as she reached out the injured man as he shivered violently. Biting her lip she took off her own coat, the freezing wind biting through her thin shirt as she wrapped the warm jacket around the man "it’s okay sir, it’s going to be okay" she soothed and glared at Chat "just. Go" she spat out angrily. 

Reluctantly he relented, placing the helmet he had cast aside back on his head he revved up the motorbike and cast her one last glance "please understand Marinette" he begged before kicking up snow and dirt as he sped off, leaning into a sharp turn as he wrapped his cold shaking fingers around the soft cloth of Marinette's scarf. 

Marinette pulled out her phone and dialled the police "hello? Please! You have to come quickly there’s been an accident! There are two people, please hurry their hurt!" She spoke frantically into the receiver, trying her best to keep the chill out of her voice. She coughed almost violently as the cold assaulted her lungs "we're by the TS bakery across the street from the high school" she felt a heavy pressure on her lungs as her phone went dead from the bitter cold, the tips of her fingers going numb. 

"Hold on sir, help is o-on the w-way" she shivered as sirens filled the air. 

"You're a good person" the man smiled brokenly, holding his arm as it bled "don't let anyone steal that light" 

Marinette nodded weakly before the cold became too much, the shouts of emergency responders filling her ears before she blacked out, succumbing to the darkness once she knew the men were safe. 

Chat watched guiltily from the roof tops, shame filling his heart as he stared down at the scene. His heart leaped up into his throat as he saw two uniformed men race over to the raven haired girl. They raced her into an ambulance, shortly followed by the rescue of the two men in the car but Chat was already gone, racing over roof tops with no regard for the slippery terrain as he followed the vehicle to the hospital, soft tears slipping over his mask. This should not have happened, and it was his entire fault. It was in that moment that he made a vow to himself; he would protect his princess, the girl who had been nothing but nice to everyone, regardless of who or what they did. He would protect her until his last breath, because a light like that, a light that created love needed to be safe and he would use his own dark destruction to do it. 

 

~o0o~   
There was a gentle pressure on her legs as she awoke, as if a heavy blanket had been draped over her them, warm, heavy and comforting. She peaked open an eye, feeling the tears she had been shedding stick to her eyelids, making it hard to open them. With some effort the sleep fell from her baby blues and took in the stark clinical whiteness of the room. Everything was clean, crisp and devoid of colour, machines hummed along the wall and Marinette struggled if only for a brief moment, to get her bearings. 

She was in a hospital, and she had blacked out after the emergency services had arrived. It was this much she knew, what she couldn't understand was the soft feelings of affection washing over her from her soul-mark. Perhaps her soulmate had sensed, or felt her distress in the passing altercation that had taken place just a few hours prior. She went to place a hand on the mark, sending her hopefully future spouse feelings of relief and comfort. She was okay, she was safe. Instead her hand met a silky mass of blond hair. As if she were burned Marinette tore her hand away and looked at her sleeping crush, hunched over the hospital bed and using her legs as a pillow. The heart monitor beeped erratically as she struggled to maintain a sense of calm over the Adrien Agreste, model extraordinaire snoozing peacefully on her lap. She couldn’t help but smile, more waves of warmth washing over her followed by a sense of peace. Her mother sat in the corner looking on her phone as a soft knowing smile graced her gentle face. Mrs. Dupain-chang looked up at her daughter, beaming with pride at her selflessness. 

“Did you have a good nap?” she chuckled as Marinette flushed, looking down at the sleeping boy on her lap, of course that didn’t help her any as he stirred in his sleep. 

“How long was I out?” she asked as she picked at the scratchy, blue, low thread count blanket. 

“a while,” Sabine stood up and walked over to her beloved daughter with pride shining like beacons in her eyes “I’m so proud of you baby, what you did was amazing, you saved the lives of those men, you’re just like Ladybug and Chat Noir now”

Marinette leaned into the hug her mother gave her, her head resting on her shoulder with a conflicted look on her face, if only her mom knew the truth about Chat Noir. She shook the memory away as she rolled the loose faded blue thread between her fingers. 

“You really think so?” she asked, which was slightly Ironic considering she was indeed Ladybug, even if at times she didn’t exactly feel like her alter ego. 

“I know so” her mother beamed “and so does he” she jutted her chin out in the direction of Adrien. He stirred once more before fully coming into consciousness, with his hair ruffled the way it was he looked a lot like a certain black feline that now Marinette knew prowled the streets at night. 

He blinked rapidly, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes as the bright light of the room assaulted his gorgeous green eyes. He took in his surroundings with a languid stretch, giving away just how lanky he was. A smile of relief flooded his features as his gaze landed on Marinette’s own bluebells. His smile turned awkward as he came to the realization that he had been napping on her like a distraught lover, then again in a way he had been. After she had demanded he leave the scaredy cat he was stuck around, watching helplessly from a far as she subjected herself to extreme weather for people she’d never even met. God damn he felt like an ass. 

“Hey sleeping beauty, are you feeling alright?” he asked subconsciously leaning toward his beloved princess, of course the comment may have ticked her off on his identity. He started to panic as a thoughtful look crossed her beautiful lightly freckled features. He knew Marinette was smart, but that level of theorizing could only be potentially matched by the one and only Alya. “What?” he added after a moment and raised a pale hand to his cheek “is there something on my face?”

Marinette flushed suddenly “uh- n-no! It’s just uh wondering was I, I mean I was just wondering why you were here.” Her eye widened at her statement “not that I don’t want you here!” she attempted to correct her perceived error “it’s actually quite nice you’re here- I’m just-“ she sighed, letting her head fall into her hands, why could she ever say what she meant when he’s around? 

Adrien couldn’t help the feeling of endearment that flooded over him, she may not be Ladybug, but holy hell was she ever adorable. His gaze softened to a look of fondness.   
“I saw what you did for that man, you were incredible Marinette, you saved that man from freezing, he’s alive thanks to you.” He couldn’t help but reach out and brush a piece of velvety soft black hair behind her ear, a move he wanted to pull on Ladybug every time he saw her, but you know being a gentleman and all that. Oh god... what would his lady think if she found out, probably as betrayed as Marinette was if he was being completely honest with himself. The thought made his heart constrict painfully, he had thought in the snow and early morning hours that no one would be around to witness his dirty work for the infamous ‘Dark Cupid’ as the tabloids called him due to his awful calling card of having his subordinates rip out the hearts of the victims they killed, should they kill anyone. If Adrien was being honest he’d never met him outside the masks they both wore, and he was only doing it due to blackmail. Do Cupids dirty work or both his Lady, Marinette and his friends die in many unsavoury ways. 

The move left Marinette speechless at the tenderness her school crush displayed openly to her, the heart monitor raced much to her dismay and her mother only casually went into the hall, claiming an interest in some of the posters that lined the halls. 

“I promise to keep you safe Marinette” the blond boy claimed, locking his eyes with hers, almost losing himself in those beautiful baby blues. They were so much like ladybugs it was uncanny. “Whenever you are hurt or in trouble I will be there to help you, you were my very first friend and I just want you to be safe. Although I admire your selflessness, you were so reckless princess, if- if I'm honest I don’t know what I would do if you got hurt”

Marinette was lost in his eyes until she heard that oh so familiar nickname leave his lips, she couldn’t help the name as it slipped from her mouth of its own volition. 

“Chat Noir.....”


End file.
